My artwork combines Prozac and elements from Alice in Wonderland. Prozac is a pharmaceutical drug that is prescribed to patients struggling with depression and anxiety. It is a drug that I often include in my artwork as it is a big part of my life. Alice in Wonderland is another topic I incorporate into my practice as I relate to the character and the story is often dissected and critiqued for its connections to mental health.
To Normality plays on the scene from Disney’s version of the story where Alice is running from the red queen and her army. Nearing the end of this scene Alice runs into a purple spiraling cloud portal that leads to her exit from Wonderland. The background of my work is a spiral inspired by that portal. My colours for that spiral are the matching green and yellows of the Prozac capsule I currently take.
Facial detection is used in my project to track one or multiple users’ faces. As users enter the area within the span of the camera, a Prozac capsule will appear in place of their faces. As they move, the capsules move, leaving a trail of colours. As more people enter the space, more pills block the spiral. This is a metaphor for the anxiety that increases as more people enter the space. It feels as though more drugs are needed to counter these involuntary emotions. It becomes harder to see the end of the portal. The title alludes to the end of the portal as being the way to normality. With more obstacles in the way, it becomes impossible to reach this goal, unless one takes the pills - which one cannot.
